Cleantech and Environmental News – Latest Headlines

Subscribe to our Cleantech News feed

A new method to automatically estimate rooftop solar potential

The progress of rooftop solar installations is often slowed by a shortage of trained professionals who must use expensive tools to conduct labor-intensive structure assessments one by one. Now, researchers are proposing a new, data-driven approach that uses machine learning techniques and widely available satellite images to identify roofs that have the most potential to produce cost-effective solar power.

Aug 8th, 2019

What counts for our climate: Carbon budgets untangled

Different analyzes have come up with different estimates of how much CO2 humankind can still emit if we want to hold global warming to the internationally agreed 1.5 and well below 2 degrees Celsius limits, but a lack of clarity of the reasons causing these variations has created unnecessary confusion, a new study shows.

Jul 17th, 2019

Researchers applied novel hydrogel to harvest water from humid air above sea surfaces

Huge amounts of water evaporate from water surfaces such as reservoirs and the open sea each day. To address this issue, especially in water scarce areas, researchers found an innovative way to harvest water from the humid air above water surfaces.

Jul 10th, 2019

Researchers create worldwide solar energy model

Photovoltaic installations will have a huge impact on future energy systems, so it is crucial to know their performance at local, regional and global levels. A historically accurate model has now been set up with all data made available via open license.

Jul 1st, 2019

New unprinting method can help recycle paper and curb environmental costs

Imagine if your printer had an 'unprint' button that used pulses of light to remove toner, curbing environmental impacts compared with conventional paper recycling.

Jun 26th, 2019

New wastewater treatment for pollutant removal

Researchers have tested floating photocatalysts and solar radiation as the sole reagent, an efficient and economical process that is easy to implement and compatible with the environment.

Jun 24th, 2019

More energy needed to cope with climate change

A new study found that by mid-century climate change will increase the demand for energy globally, even with modest warming.

Jun 24th, 2019

Perovskite solar cells tested for real-world performance - in the lab

Scientists brought real-world conditions into the controlled environment of the lab. Using data from a weather station they reproduced the real-world temperature and irradiance profiles from specific days during the course of the year. With this approach, the scientists were able to quantify the energy yield of the devices under realistic conditions.

Jun 21st, 2019

A sticky solution could improve carbon capture materials

Researchers have developed a new material capable of capturing the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide with the key ingredient being a common epoxy resin you probably have at home.

Jun 19th, 2019

A metal-free, sustainable approach to CO2 reduction

Researchers present an organic catalyst for carbon dioxide (CO2) reduction that is inexpensive, readily available and recyclable. As the level of catalytic activity can be tuned by the solvent conditions, their findings could open up many new directions for converting CO2 to industrially useful organic compounds.

Jun 17th, 2019

Manganese water-splitting catalyst shows promise for future hydrogen economy

The discovery of an Earth-abundant catalyst promises to make the production of hydrogen fuel more feasible.

Jun 7th, 2019

Chemicals from carbon dioxide - with plasma and perovskite membranes

Researchers aim to use the climate-damaging greenhouse gas carbon dioxide as a raw material for the production of chemicals. To do this, they are developing a combined plasma and membrane process that splits CO2 into oxygen and the chemical base material carbon monoxide.

Jun 4th, 2019

Floating power plants - recycling CO2 from the ocean

Huge floating solar islands on the ocean that produce enough energy to enable CO2-neutral global freight traffic - what sounds like science fiction researchers have now calculated for the first time.

Jun 4th, 2019

Economical energy storage for the electric car of tomorrow

Dry electrode coating technology allows environmentally friendly battery cell production.

Jun 3rd, 2019

Cement as a climate killer: Using industrial waste to produce carbon neutral alternatives

Producing cement takes a big toll on our climate: Around eight per cent of annual global carbon dioxide emissions can be attributed to this process. However, the demand for cement continues to rise. A team of geoscientists has found a way to produce more environmentally friendly and sustainable alternatives.

May 20th, 2019

Clean and effective electronic waste recycling

E-waste recycling is far below what it should be to reduce its impact on the environment and human health simply because it is not economically feasible. Researchers are working on a way to change that using pulsed power technology.

May 15th, 2019